Tonight at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will have at each other one last time before next week's primary elections in the Buckeye and Lone Star states.
The latest Quinnipiac poll found Clinton leads Obama 51 to 40 percent in Ohio, down from 55 to 34 percent a month ago. With her back against the wall, she'll take it.
Cleveland Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a "top-tier cheerleader" for Clinton, will likely have a good seat from which to ponder whether it is mistake to ignore the wishes of her constituents. Rev. Marvin McMickle, an Obama supporter, told the Chicago Tribune:
She is enormously beloved here, but she is completely out of step with her district. [Jones is] on the wrong side of this campaign and she's on the wrong side of history.
Jones is not alone. Other Congressional Black Caucus superdelegates are swimming against the tide. For the first time in nearly a decade, Rep. John Lewis has drawn a primary challenger.
At the recent "State of the Black Union 2008," Jones lamented the attacks on CBC members "who have paid their dues and served their time." She noted that "politics is all about relationships" and CBC members have "preexisting relationships" with Clinton. She added:
Some of us have to be over here. Some of us have to be over there so that we don't get locked out of the process.
The presidential debate will air live on MSNBC at 9pm ET and 8pm CT.
